- Ripple fluctuates in a $0.61-0.65 band
- Former SEC exec deposition stirs optimism
- The XRP death cross ahead unless for a sudden rebound
YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — The price of Ripple is converging towards new lows, while the court battle against SEC seems to be in its favor. A new major dump of $60m is keeping XRP investors on their toes.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a case against co-founder Chris Larsen and CEO Brad Garlinghouse back in December. Cryptoslate reports that the commission accused the executives of selling unregistered digital securities worth $1.3B since 2010.
The price following the events
The legal response to this accusation is that XRP is a currency, not an investment asset. Therefore, it does not stand under the jurisdiction based on which the SEC has filed the case. As the battle continues, the price of the token continues to fluctuate.
When the legal battle started, the Ripple token price fell from its unprecedented high of $0.78 to $0.22 by the end of the year. However, the support of the blockchain industry against a seeming witch hunt helped the currency recover.
In April, XRP hit an all-time high at $1.79 but has been dropping slowly since. Unfortunately, the drop is also happening among other cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Related: SEC vs. Ripple: Motion to quash ex SEC director’s deposition filed
Now Ripple is fighting to bring the former SEC exec William Hinman into deposition. Cryptoslate suggests that the testimony will have a pivotal effect on the case. Hinman has previously stated that cryptocurrencies don’t stand under the same legislation as other assets.
Is this a pivotal moment for Ripple tokens?
The market analysis shows an upcoming death cross for the US-based cryptocurrency. Two weeks ago, the price seemed to have pulled back at $0.75, but the resistance was broken. The 50 & 200-day moving averages will probably intersect soon to signal a more profound downfall. That is, if XRP doesn’t hit a significant high soon, investors will likely pull out to avoid substantial losses.
In the meantime, the rumor that the former Ripple CTO, Jed McCaleb, has sold over 100 million XRP tokens hardly puts the market at ease. The sale may not be because of a pessimistic prediction, though.
When leaving Ripple Lab, McCaleb meant to dispose of his XRP holdings at once but refrained not to disturb the market. Instead, he has been selling large sums periodically, with over 500 million tokens still in his wallet. However, investors do make sales whenever they think the price is peaking.
Related: XRP boom expected as SBI enters Ripple-enabled partnership with Hamamatsu Iwata Bank
Nevertheless, if Ripple wins the court battle, or even after Hinman’s deposition, the confidence may recover for the crypto. The price movements for the last two months resemble a bullish falling wedge pattern. With time the lower bound of the wedge keeps flattening, and fluctuations get smaller around $0.63. To confirm the prediction, the price should experience a breakout high in the coming days.
